Bag dispenser

ABSTRACT

The generally rectangular case, in which the folded bags are placed with their folded bottom portions exposed in a generally rectangular opening in the lower portion of the front wall of the case, is detachably secured to a back plate that is fastened to the wall or any other suitable support. The back plate fits inside the open back of the case and has a lug at one end entered in a slot in the abutting end wall of the case, while a wedge shaped catch projection on the other end wall of the case is engaged over the adjacent end of the back plate, the connections at both ends being held intact under light balanced spring pressure by virtue of the inwardly arched end walls of the case bearing against the opposite ends of the back plate when the case is assembled thereon.

Baraconi et al.

[ 1 Apr. 3, 1973 [54] BAG DISPENSER [75] Inventors: William V. Baraconi; Peter J.

LaFranca, both of Rockford, Ill.

[73] Assignee: William V. Baraconi, Rockford, Ill.

[22] Filed: Feb. 24, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 118,421

Primary Examiner-Samuel F. Coleman Attorney-Andrew F. Wintercorn 57 ABSTRACT The generally rectangular case, in which the folded bags are placed with their folded bottom portions exposed in a generally rectangular opening in the lower portion of the front wall of the case, is detachably secured to a back plate that is fastened to the wall or any other suitable support. The back plate fits inside the open back of the case and has a lug at one end entered in a slot in the abutting end wall of the case, while a wedge shaped catch projection on the other end wall of the case is engaged over the adjacent end of the back plate, the connections at both ends being held intact under light balanced spring pressure by virtue of the inwardly arched end walls of the case bearing against the opposite ends of the back plate when the case is assembled thereon.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures mit disconnection of the case BAG DISPENSER This invention relates to paper bag dispensers and is more particularly concerned with improvements on that disclosed in LaFranca Pat. No. 3,422,988 issued Jan. 21, 1969.

Like the LaFranca dispenser, the present dispenser is one especially designed and intended for use in the home for the dispensing of paper bags of a shape and size suitable for receiving sanitary napkins, the present construction being of a simpler and more economical construction than that shown in the LaFranca patent, and also easier to reload.

A salient feature of the present construction is the detachable lug and slot connection between the lower end of the generally rectangular back plate that is mounted on the wall and the lower end wall of the generally rectangular case, these parts being spring pressed towards one another in assembled relationship due to the novel upwardly arched form of this bottom wall and the inherent resiliency of the polypropylene plastic material of which the caseis molded, the upper end-of the mounting plate being: also detachably connected with the upper wall of the case by a camor wedge shaped catch projection on the top wall at the back end thereof, which snaps into place behind the upper end of the back plate wherea portion of a reinforcing flange extending' rearwardly from the back plate is cut away to provide the necessary'operating clearance for this catch projection. Here, again, the top wall of the case is arched downwardly to provide the neededspring action afforded .by the resilience of this plastic wall in which the springaction is built up in the straightening of the arched wall-as the catch projection rides over the upper end of the back plate into its locked position. To remove the case from the back plate it is onlya matter of raising the case relative to the back plate enough to make the catch clear the upper end' of the back plate, the bottom wall of the case being' straightened out in this operation to provide the needed working clearance at the upper end of the case to perfrom the back plate for purposes ofreloading. 1

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bag dispenser made in accordance with our invention, the same being shown with the case in closed position and theflapon the bottom ofthe foremost bag inside thecase project-' ing forwardly from the rectangular'openinginthe lower end of the case ready to be taken hold of in removing the bag;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing the dispenser substantially full size, and

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the dispenser on a smaller scaletaken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, this view emphasizing the upwardly arched bottom wall on the ease and its downwardlyarched top wall, and indicating by the straight dotted lines the extent of flexing of the top'and bottom walls involved in ge g the spring action of these walls. i I

' The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views. I

generally by the referencenumeral 5, is adapted to be mounted on-a wall 6 in a bathroom or toilet any Referring to the drawing, the dispenser, indicated suitable manner, as, for example, by two vertically spaced screws 7 entered in vertically spaced key-hole slots 8 provided in the generally rectangular back plate 9, this back plate, like the generally rectangular case 10 mounted thereon, being molded of a suitable plastic material, such as polypropylene, which is available in a variety of colors to suit different bathroom decor. A supply of paper bags 11 of appropriate size for the purpose intended is provided in folded flat form and housed in the case 10 in abutment with the front wall 12 with the flap 13 formed by the folded bottom of the foremost bag projecting forwardly from a generally rectangular opening 14 provided in the lower end portion of the front wall 12 above the lower end portion 15 of said wall. A leaf spring 16 has a straight upper portion 17 anchored in a rectangular pocket 18 defined on the back plate 9 behind a similarly shaped wall 19 molded integral with the back plate 9 and open at the lower end 20 to permit insertion of the end portion 17 of the leaf spring upwardly into the pocket 18, a central rounded projection 21 on the back of the wall 19 snapping into place in a hole 22 provided in the end portion 17 of the leaf spring to secure it in its assembled position. Therearwardly curved lower end portion 23 of the leaf spring 16 bearsagainst the stack of bags 11 behind their folded bottom portions so as to urge the bags forwardly with light spring pressure .enoughto make it easy forone to take hold of the flap 13 on the foremost bag to pull it forwardly out of the case through'the opening 14. The latter, as seen in FIG. 1, is as wide as the bags so that there is only the slight resistance offeredby the upwardly tion 15 0f the-front wall 12.

As best appears in FIG. 3, the bottom wall 24'of the case 10 is arched upwardlyand has a slot 25 provided therein transversely of the rear end portion thereof at the middle to receivea-lug 26 projecting downwardly from the middle of the lower end of the back plate 9 to 1 connect the case detachably with the; back plate, the

upwardly arched form of the bottom wall, coupled with the inherent resiliency of the polypropylene plastic material of .which the case is molded, providing the desired amount of spring-pressure to keep the lug 26 properly disposed in the slot 25 when the case 10 is. assembled on the back plate 9. The wedge shaped catch projection 27 extending transversely of the middle portion of the rear end portion of the top wall 28 of the case 10, which, as seen in FIG. 3 is arched downwardly, to approximately the same extent as the lower-wall 24 of the case is arched upwardly,.is arranged to snap into place behind the upper end 29 of the back plate 9, where a portion of a reinforcing marginal flange'30 extending ,rearw'ardly from the back plate is cut away, as at 31', to provide thenecessary operating clearance for this catch projection. Here again, the extent of arching of the top wall downwardly provides.- the desired amount of spring action afforded by the resilience of this plastic wall, in which the spring action is built up in the straightening of the arched wall as the catch projection rides over theupper end of the back plate irito its lockedposiu'on. i s I In operation, once the back plate 9 has been fastened securely to the wall 6 by the two screws 7 and the latter are tightened to provide a good hold, reducing likelihood of any endwise movement of theback'plate,

extending lower porit is a simple matter, after depositing a suitable supply of folded bags 11 in the case 10, to enter the lug 26 in the slot 25 to connect the lower end of the case to the lower end of the back plate, after which the case can be swung rearwardly about the connection -26 as a center to cause the wedge shaped catch projection 27 to ride over the upper end 29 of the back plate and snap into place behind it to complete the assembling operation. Then, when the supply of bags 11 has been used up and case 10 must be removed to replenish the supply, all that it is necessary to do is raise up on the case 10, thereby straightening the upwardly arched bottom wall 24, to raise the catch projection 27 clear of the upper end 29 of the back plate 9, when, of course, the case 10 can be swung forwardly away from the back plate 9 and removed therefrom by disconnection of lug 26 from slot 25. After a fresh supply of bags 11 has been placed in the case 10 with their folded bottom portions lowermost and turned to project the flaps 13 outwardly through opening 14, the case is then replaced on the back plate 9 in the manner previously described. The arched bottom wall 24 and arched top wall 28 in the assembled position of the case 10 on the back plate 9 provided balanced spring pressure at 2526 and 27-31, maintaining the case in its locked relationship to the back plate 9 so that there is no likelihood of the case 10 becoming accidentally disconnected from the back plate under normal operating conditions. In other words, there is still some inward spring pressure exerted by the arched bottom wall 24 and arched top wall 29 with the parts 9 and 10 assembled as shown.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of our invention. While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, this is only for the purpose of illustration, and it is to be understood that various modifications in structure will occur to a person skilled in this art.

We claim:

1. A bag holder from which to dispense paper bags comprising an elongated generally rectangular back plate for mounting the bag holder on a suitable upright support, an elongated upright generally rectangular open back case in which the back plate is adapted to be received for support of the case on said support, the case having a front wall, opposed side walls, and opposed end walls and having a generally rectangular opening in one end portion of the front wall through which the folded closed ends of paper bags stacked inside the case in abutment with the front wall may be exposed for removal of the bags one at a time, the width of the opening being approximately equal to the width of the bags to avoid crumpling or otherwise damaging the bags when pulled one at a time through said opening, the opposed end walls being flexible and resilient and being arched inwardly toward each other, one of these end walls having a slot provided therein transversely thereof at the middle to receive detachably a lug provided on one end of the back plate, the other end wall of the case having a wedge shaped catch projection provided thereon transversely thereof at the middle detachably slidably engageable over the other end of said back plate remote from said lug for detachable connection with that end of the back plate, said arched end walls beanng against the opposite ends of said back plate with light spring pressure when said case is assembled thereon, whereby to provide balanced spring pressure maintaining the ends of said back plate securely connected with said end walls, and spring means in said case for urging a stack of paper bags toward said front wall for withdrawal of bags one at a time through the opening therein in the dispensing of the bags from said case.

2. A bag holder from which to dispense paper bags comprising an elongated generally rectangular back plate for mounting the bag molder on a suitable support, an elongated generally rectangular open back case in which the back plate is adapted to be received for support of the case on said support, the case having a front wall, opposed side walls, and opposed end walls and having a generally rectangular opening in one end portion of the front wall through which folded closed ends of paper bags stacked inside the case in abutment with the front wall way be exposed for removal of the bags one at a time, the width of the opening being approximately equal to the width of the bags to avoid crumpling or otherwise damaging the bags when pulled one at a time through said opening, one of said end walls having a slot provided therein transversely thereof at the middle to receive detachably 2. lug provided on one end of the back plate, the other end wall of the case having a wedge shaped catch projection provided thereon transversely thereof at the middle detachably slidably engageable over the other end of said back plate remote from said lug for detachable connection with that end of the back plate, one of said end walls being arched inwardly and being flexible and resilient and bearing against the adjacent end of said back plate with light spring pressure when said case is assembled thereon, to maintain the ends of said back plate securely connected with said end walls, and spring means in said case for urging a stack of paper bags toward said front wall for withdrawal of bags one at a time through the opening therein in the dispensing of the bags from said case. 

1. A bag holder from which to dispense paper bags comprising an elongated generally rectangular back plate for mounting the bag holder on a suitable upright support, an elongated upright generally rectangular open back case in which the back plate is adapted to be received for support of the case on said support, the case having a front wall, opposed side walls, and opposed end walls and having a generally rectangular opening in one end portion of the front wall through which the folded closed ends of paper bags stacked inside the case in abutment with the front wall may be exposed for removal of the bags one at a time, the width of the opening being approximately equal to the width of the bags to avoid crumpling or otherwise damaging the bags when pulled one at a time through said opening, the opposed end walls being flexible and resilient and being arched inwardly toward each other, one of these end walls having a slot provided therein transversely thereof at the middle to receive detachably a lug provided on one end of the back plate, the other end wall of the case having a wedge shaped catch projection provided thereon transversely thereof at the middle detachably slidably engageable over the other end of said back plate remote from said lug for detachable connection with that end of the back plate, said arched end walls bearing against the opposite ends of said back plate with light spring pressure when said case is assembled thereon, whereby to provide balanced spring pressure maintaining the ends of said back plate securely connected with said end walls, and spring means in said case for urging a stack of paper bags toward said front wall for withdrawal of bags one at a time through the opening therein in the dispensing of the bags from said case.
 2. A bag holder from which to dispense paper bags comprising an elongated generally rectangular back plate for mounting the bag molder on a suitable support, an elongated generally rectangulAr open back case in which the back plate is adapted to be received for support of the case on said support, the case having a front wall, opposed side walls, and opposed end walls and having a generally rectangular opening in one end portion of the front wall through which folded closed ends of paper bags stacked inside the case in abutment with the front wall way be exposed for removal of the bags one at a time, the width of the opening being approximately equal to the width of the bags to avoid crumpling or otherwise damaging the bags when pulled one at a time through said opening, one of said end walls having a slot provided therein transversely thereof at the middle to receive detachably a lug provided on one end of the back plate, the other end wall of the case having a wedge shaped catch projection provided thereon transversely thereof at the middle detachably slidably engageable over the other end of said back plate remote from said lug for detachable connection with that end of the back plate, one of said end walls being arched inwardly and being flexible and resilient and bearing against the adjacent end of said back plate with light spring pressure when said case is assembled thereon, to maintain the ends of said back plate securely connected with said end walls, and spring means in said case for urging a stack of paper bags toward said front wall for withdrawal of bags one at a time through the opening therein in the dispensing of the bags from said case. 